The Right Window Treatments for Pet Owners in Clearwater
It’s an image pet owners in Clearwater probably know too well: leaving your home only to look behind and see your pet’s face looking at you as you walk away. For pet owners with certain window coverings, daily trips to the window might mean trouble, as dogs and cats can cause some of the worst damage to your window treatments.
So how can you prevent pet damage? The easiest way is to choose a pet-friendly window covering that can stand up to even the most finicky pets. Let’s take a look at some of the best (and worst) window treatments for pet owners across Florida.
Non Pet-Friendly Window Treatments
We’ll start by taking a look at which window treatments pet owners shouldn’t have in the home.
Window Coverings With Cords
As is the case with children’s window safety, cords are a problem for pet owners. Dogs and cats alike are known to play with dangling cords, which may result in damage to your window covering or worse, injury to your pet.
Look into window treatments without cords, whether they’re shutters that attach to the window frame or other window treatments that have a bottom-up top-down configuration or are motorized.
Metal Blinds
Photo courtesy Carlos Castro via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Metal blinds are probably the absolute worst window treatment for homeowners with pets. Not only do they typically operate via cord, but they’re very susceptible to damage from even the most gentle animals. Dogs or cats poking their heads through aluminum blinds can warp, bend, and even snap the weak slats, so you’ll have to replace the whole window treatment.
Fabric Window Coverings
Depending on your pet and the style of window covering, fabrics might or might not be something to stay away from. Lengthy fabrics like curtains can “puddle” on the floor, making them easy for dirty paws to stomp on. Fabric window coverings also have a tendency to collect pet hair which eliminates any fashion value they could add. Finally, fabrics can tear, something cat owners know all too well.
Pet-Friendly Window Treatments
Now that we’ve seen which window treatments don’t get along with pets, we’ll dive into the more pet-friendly window treatments.
Real Wood and Faux-Wood Blinds
Almost all of the problems aluminum blinds have, wood and faux-wood blinds solve for pet owners. No matter if your pet wants to peek through the window, resilient wood blinds can handle more abuse than aluminum blinds. Plus, their typically wider slats make it less likely for pets to get their arms or necks tangled in them.
However, be sure that if you choose wood or faux-wood blinds that you opt for ones that are cordless.
Plantation Shutters - A Pet Owner’s Best Window Treatment
If injury to your pet or damage to your window treatment is a concern, plantation shutters can help reduce those worries. Since they mount directly into the window frame, there aren’t any hanging cords or fabric that might cause trouble. What’s more, even if your pet is able to reach them, Polywood® plantation shutters are scratch resistant and extremely sturdy so damage is almost never a concern.
Plantation shutters can help keep pets happy too. Does your dog want to poke its head out the window as you leave? Shutters can make it easy without any chance of damage. Does the cat want a patch of sunlight to nap in? Just adjust the louvers and let the light come through without losing any privacy.
Simply put, plantation shutters are the perfect window treatment for homes with pets.
